The Cybils Awards middle-grade shortlist for the current cycle landed with six titles, covering a wheelchair athlete, a book-censorship protest, a maroon community in the Great Dismal Swamp, a bullying story with an alien twist, a Mumbai water-justice novel, and a cross-cultural friendship set between the Arab and Jewish communities of San Antonio. It is a list that takes middle grade seriously as a space where harder conversations happen.
Key facts
- Source: The Cybils Awards middle-grade shortlist
- Six titles nominated
- Mix of contemporary realism, historical fiction, and issue-led stories
- Publishers span major houses and mid-size imprints
The shortlist at a glance
| Title | Author | Publisher | Core Theme | Reader Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air: A Novel | Monica Roe | Farrar, Straus & Giroux | Disability, fundraising, identity | Sport-loving readers; fans of underdog stories |
| Attack of the Black Rectangles | AS King | Scholastic Press | Censorship, protest, friendship | Classroom readers; current-events fans |
| Freewater | Amina Luqman-Dawson | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | Historical resistance, freedom | Readers ready for ensemble and immersion |
| Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone | Tae Keller | Random House Books for Young Readers | Bullying, belonging, belief | Friendship-story readers; thoughtful middle graders |
| Thirst | Varsha Bajaj | Nancy Paulsen Books | Water access, class, justice | Socially curious readers; global-awareness seekers |
| Wishing Upon the Same Stars | Jacquetta Nammar Feldman | HarperCollins Children's | Cross-cultural friendship, prejudice | Readers navigating identity and belonging |
Individual titles
Air: A Novel** by Monica Roe. Twelve-year-old Emmie is a wheelchair athlete with her eye on a competition-grade chair. She and her best friend raise money by selling wheelchair backpacks, and the story is about what happens when the fundraising makes her the "good cause" at her school. The reviewer calls her a spunky, confident lead readers will root for.
Attack of the Black Rectangles** by AS King. Mac, a middle schooler, finds that his reading teacher has censored the class book on the Holocaust by blacking out words related to women's anatomy. With his grandfather and his best friends, he takes the protest public. The reviewer flags it as a strong fit for current-events discussion.
Freewater** by Amina Luqman-Dawson. A historical novel about a community of formerly enslaved people in the Great Dismal Swamp. Multiple young voices circle the Freewater colony, each with their own plan for freedom. The reviewer recommends it for readers who want immersive settings and resistance stories in American history.
Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone** by Tae Keller. Jennifer, the new girl in a small town, talks openly about aliens. Her neighbor Mallory tells her to keep quiet. When Jennifer disappears, Mallory has to confront her own choices. The reviewer notes the book handles bullying and friendship with unusual honesty.
Thirst** by Varsha Bajaj. Twelve-year-old Minni lives in the poorest slum of Mumbai, where residents wait hours for water from a communal tap. When she leaves school to work in a high-rise where water flows from a tap, she sees the inequality up close. The review highlights the water-mafia subplot and the class contrast.
Wishing Upon the Same Stars** by Jacquetta Nammar Feldman. When Yasmeen's Arab family moves from Detroit to San Antonio, they face culture shock and prejudice. She befriends her Israeli Jewish neighbor, Ayelet, knowing her father won't approve. The story explores cross-cultural friendship against the backdrop of larger tensions.
Our analysis
The shortlist is doing something worth noting: it treats middle grade as a place where the harder conversations happen, not as a softener for them. The censorship title, the bullying title, the water-access title, and the historical-resistance title are all books that will land in classroom libraries and parent book clubs. That is the right test for a middle-grade novel, and the list is taking it seriously.
The wheelchair-athlete title stands out because it frames disability as one part of a larger story about fundraising, identity, and being seen as a "good cause" rather than a person. That tension—between Emmi's agency and how others define her—gives the book a sharper edge than a straightforward sports story.
A craft consideration: the historical novel requires the most patience from readers, and success depends on the reader leaning into the ensemble structure. The Mumbai-set novel is the most explicitly issue-driven, and the water-mafia subplot is where it takes its most ambitious narrative turn. Both work best with a parent or teacher who can hold the post-book conversation.
Who should read what
- For sport-loving readers**: Start with Air.
- For classroom or reading-group discussion**: Pick Attack of the Black Rectangles.
- For readers who want historical depth**: Save Freewater for readers ready for an ensemble and a longer commitment.
- For friendship-story fans with a moral hook**: Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone.
- For readers asking about global inequality**: Thirst does not soften the answer.
- For readers navigating identity across cultures**: Wishing Upon the Same Stars.
What to watch next
Shortlists are predictors, not finishers. Watch the Cybils winner announcement to see which title the final judges elevate. Also watch the classroom adoption of the censorship and water-access titles—those are the books that will enter curriculum debates, and where they land tells you where the publishing conversation is heading. For now, the shortlist is a useful map of where middle-grade fiction is placing its bets.
Key takeaways
- The Cybils middle-grade shortlist includes six titles across realism, historical fiction, and issue-led stories
- The list treats middle grade as a venue for hard conversations, not a softener
- A comparison table helps match readers to the right title based on interest and reading profile
- Watch the winner announcement and classroom adoption cycles to see which titles gain traction
Frequently asked questions
How many books are on the Cybils middle-grade shortlist?
There are six nominated titles on the shortlist.
Which book is about censorship?
Attack of the Black Rectangles by AS King, in which a middle schooler protests a teacher who censored a class book on the Holocaust.
Which book features a wheelchair athlete?
Air: A Novel by Monica Roe, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Is there a historical novel on the list?
Yes. Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson is set in a community of formerly enslaved people in the Great Dismal Swamp.
Which title explores cross-cultural friendship?
Wishing Upon the Same Stars by Jacquetta Nammar Feldman follows an Arab family's move from Detroit to San Antonio and their friendship with a Jewish neighbor.